Light emitting device

ABSTRACT

A light emitting device includes a substrate, a light emitting element, a first resin member, and a second resin member. The substrate includes a base member, a plurality of wiring portions disposed on a first surface and a second surface of the base member, and a covering layer that covers the wiring portions disposed on the first surface and has an opening formed in a part of the covering layer. The light emitting element is arranged on the wiring portions disposed on the first surface in the opening of the covering layer and having an upper surface at a position higher than the covering layer. The first resin member is arranged at least in the opening of the covering layer and at periphery of the light emitting element. The second resin member seals the substrate and the light emitting element and has an outer border that is arranged above the covering layer. The covering layer is exposed at an outer side of the second resin member. The wiring portions disposed on the second surface are not directly or indirectly electrically connected to the light emitting element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/956,496, filed on Aug. 1, 2013. This applicationclaims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-176846 filed inJapan on Aug. 9, 2012. The entire disclosures of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/956,496 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-176846 areincorporated hereinto by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a light emitting device in which asealing member is disposed on a substrate and a light emitting element.

2. Background Information

Conventionally, there is proposed a light emitting device in which alight emitting element and other components are arranged on a substrate.

In such a light emitting device, in order to maintain the brightness anddirectivity etc., the light emitting element may be covered with a lighttransmissive resin member having a shape which can exert lens effect orthe like (for example, see JP 2007-201171A).

However, a lens-shape sealing resin member which is protruded high fromthe substrate may easily detach from the substrate by receiving impactfrom outside or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is devised to solve the problems as describedabove, and has an object of providing a light emitting device having asealing resin member which has greater adhesion.

The present invention includes the aspects described below.

A light emitting device includes a substrate, a light emitting element,a first resin member, and a second resin member.

The substrate includes a base member, a plurality of wiring portionsdisposed on a first surface and a second surface of the base member, anda covering layer that covers the wiring portions disposed on the firstsurface and has an opening formed in a part of the covering layer. Thelight emitting element is arranged on the wiring portions disposed onthe first surface in the opening of the covering layer and having anupper surface at a position higher than the covering layer. The firstresin member is arranged at least in the opening of the covering layerand at periphery of the light emitting element. The second resin memberseals the substrate and the light emitting element and has an outerborder that is arranged above the covering layer.

The covering layer is exposed at an outer side of the second resinmember. The wiring portions disposed on the second surface are notdirectly or indirectly electrically connected to the light emittingelement.

According to the aspect of the invention, the wiring portions arefurther disposed at an inner side of the base member in addition to thefirst surface and the second surface.

According to the aspect of the invention, the light emitting elementincludes a plurality of light emitting elements, and the covering layerincludes a plurality of openings such that the light emitting elementsare arranged in the openings, respectively.

According to the aspect of the invention, the light emitting element ismounted in a flip-chip manner.

According to the aspect of the invention, the light emitting element ismounted using a solder

According to the aspect of the invention, the second resin member has ahemispherical convex shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of a lightemitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of alight emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another embodiment ofa light emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing yet anotherembodiment of a light emitting device according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing yet anotherembodiment of a light emitting device according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing yet anotherembodiment of a light emitting device according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A light emitting device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a substrate, a light emitting element, a first resinmember, and a second resin member.

Substrate

The substrate includes at least a base member, a plurality of wiringportions disposed on the base member, and a covering layer disposed onthe wiring portions. The base member is a basis material for a lightemitting device and can be formed by using an appropriate materialaccording to the purpose and applications. The material of the base canbe appropriately selected in view of the type of mounting of the lightemitting elements, the reflectance, adhesiveness with other members,etc, and examples thereof include insulating materials such as plastic,glass, and ceramics. More specifically, a resin such as polyethyleneterephthalate and polyimide may be preferably used. Particularly, in thecase where solder is used for mounting the light emitting element,polyimide, which has high thermal resistance, is more preferably used.In addition, a material having high optical reflectance (for example, awhite filler such as titanium oxide) may be contained in the materialconstituting the base member. The thickness of the base member is notspecifically limited and for example, a thickness of about 10 μm toseveral mm can be employed. The substrate may have flexibility, and insuch a case, the thickness of 10 μm to 100 μm can be employed.

The base member can be formed with an appropriate shape (size, length)according to the purpose and usage. For example, a shape such as aquadrangular shape, a rectangular shape, a polygonal shape, a circularshape, an elliptical shape, or a shape which is a combination of theseshapes can be employed. In the case where the light emitting deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention is used for straighttube-type lamps, an elongated shape with a length ten times or greaterthan its width in lateral direction may be preferably employed. Morespecifically, for a straight tube-type lamp with a length of about 120cm, a base member having a width of 0.5 cm to 5 cm and a length of 30 cmto 120 cm may be employed. Particularly, in the case of employing aflexible base which allows its use in a deformed state such as in acurved or bent shape, the flexible base member having a width and lengthseveral mm to several cm greater than the width and length ofcorresponding straight tube-type lighting can be used. Also, in the casewhere a flexible base member is employed, several units of such anelongated base member (substrate) can be processed together by way ofroll-to-roll method. In this case, sprocket holes may be provided in thebase member.

The plurality of wiring portions are electrically conductive memberswhich allow an external power source to be connected and are disposed onone surface of the base member, then directly or indirectly connected tothe light emitting element. The wiring portions may be made of anelectrically conductive thin layer having a single-layer structure or astacked-layer structure of metal such as copper or aluminum or alloythereof. The wiring portion may be arranged not only on a surface of thebase member, but also on an inner side or on another surface, accordingto the kinds of the base member. The thickness of the wiring portion isnot specifically limited and a thickness of the wiring portions of thesubstrates generally used in the art can be applied. For example, aboutseveral μm to several mm can be employed. Particularly, in the casewhere a flexible base member is used as described above, the wiringportions preferably have a thickness which does not impair theflexibility, and thus, for example, a thickness of about 8 μm to 150 μmmay be employed.

The shape (pattern) of a plurality of wiring portions is notspecifically limited, and generally, a similar shape or a shapeconforming to the shape or pattern of the wiring of the substrate formounting the light emitting element may be employed. The shape ispreferably designed in further consideration of, such as heat releasingproperty and/or mechanical strength. For example, a polygonal shape suchas a crank shape, a triangular shape, and a quadrangular shape, a shapewith no sharp corners such as a circular shape and an elliptical shape,and a shape of those with partially irregular shape may be employedsingly or in combination. The corners of the wiring portions arepreferably rounded.

The plurality of wiring portions are arranged spaced apart from eachother in which, in addition to the wiring portions directly orindirectly electrically connected to corresponding light emittingelements (that is, the wiring portions for providing electricalcontinuity), a wiring portion which does not contribute to conduction ofelectricity and has a similar shape or a different shape may also bearranged. The wiring portion which does not contribute to providingelectrical continuity can serve as a heat releasing member or a mountingportion for the light emitting element. For example, in the case wherethe base member has a rectangular shape, the wiring portions which donot contribute to providing electrical continuity are preferablyextended to the end portions in the longitudinal direction and also inthe lateral direction, arranged at the both sides of the wiringportions. The wiring portions may be provided with terminals forexternal connection. For example, connectors etc. may be arranged tosupply electricity to light emitting elements from external powersource. Such a wiring portion, particularly in the case where it isarranged on a flexible base member, can reduce stress which is generatedby, for example, bending of the substrate and loaded on the lightemitting element and the second resin member, by arranging a partthereof on an approximately the entire area (preferably in continuousmanner). Specifically, in the case where a base member of elongatedshape is used, the wiring portions are preferably arranged elongatedalong the longitudinal direction of the base member, and morepreferably, the wiring portions are arranged with a length of ⅓ to 1 ofthe longitudinal length of the base member.

The wiring portions capable of contributing to conduction of electricityare made up of a positive terminal and a negative terminal and thenumber of the wiring portions which constitute a pair of the terminal isnot specifically limited. For example, each of the pair of terminalportions may be made up of a single terminal or may be made up of aplurality of terminals. The wiring portions capable of contributing toconduction of electricity are, for example, preferably connected to apair of external wirings respectively. With this arrangement, electricpower is supplied from external wirings. The pair of external wiringsare preferably connected to corresponding portions of known connectors(not shown).

As described above, arranging of the wiring portions in a relativelylarge planar dimension with a combination of wiring portions havingvarious shapes allows increase of the arrangement degree of freedom ofthe light emitting device. For example, with a rectangular base member,it can be possible that six light emitting elements are arranged threein the longitudinal direction and two in the lateral direction as oneblock and connected in parallel, then, twelve blocks are arranged in thelongitudinal direction and connected in series by the wiring portionswhich can serve as a pair of terminal portions. It may be such that thebase member has an approximately square shape, an approximately circularshape, or an approximately ellipsoidal shape, where one light emittingelement is connected to standard positive and negative wiring portionsrespectively. Arranging the wiring portions on one surface respectivelywith the largest possible planar dimension allows an increase in heatdissipation.

On one surface of the base member, the plurality of wiring portions arespaced apart from each other, which provides grooves where the wiringportions are not disposed (that is, portions where the base member isexposed). The grooves are arranged between the wiring portions, so thatthe shapes of the grooves are in conformity to the shapes of the wiringportions, which may be, for example, a crank shape. The width of thegrooves is preferably narrower than the width of the wiring portions, inother words, the wiring portions preferably have a large planardimension, and for example, a width of about 0.05 mm to 5 mm may beemployed.

Further, in the case where the wiring portions (both wiring portionscontribute/not contribute to electrical continuity) are arranged on thewhole area of one surface of the base member with a relatively largeplanar dimension, for example, even with the use of a flexible basemember, appropriate strength can be added while maintaining itsflexibility, so that disconnection of wiring portions and breakage ofsubstrate due to bending of the flexible substrate can be efficientlyprevented. More specifically, the wiring portions are arranged with anarea preferably 50% or greater, more preferably 70% or greater, furtherpreferably 90% or greater than the area of the base member.

The covering layer covering the wiring portions preferably can serve asa reflective layer to reflect the light emitted from the light emittingelement. The covering layer has, as will be described later, an openingin part thereof, from which the wiring portions are exposed. Thecovering layer preferably covers approximately the entire surface of thesubstrate except for the opening, thus, the covering layer preferablycovers the groove portions between the wiring portions described above.

The covering layer has an opening in part thereof, as described above.In order to connect the light emitting element with two, the positiveand negative, wiring portions, the opening is arranged to expose thewiring portions. The shape and size of the opening are not specificallylimited, but a minimum size sufficient for electrical connection of thelight emitting element with the wiring portions is preferable. In thecase of flip-chip mounting, a part of groove is preferably exposed in asingle opening.

Generally, the number and arrangement of light emitting elements areadjusted according to the output power, light distribution, or the likeof the light emitting device, and accordingly, the number and thepositions of the openings are arranged. The number of the openings maybe the same as the number of the light emitting element or the number ofthe openings may be different than the number of the light emittingelement. For example, in the case where 20 units of light emittingelements are needed and each light emitting element to be mounted in oneopening, 20 openings are arranged in the covering layer. Alternatively,in the case where two light emitting elements to be mounted in oneopening, 10 openings are arranged. In some cases, the light emittingelements may not be mounted in the openings. For example, in the casewhere the light emitting devices are manufactured in several ranks (forexample, light emitting devices of different outputs), with the use of asame substrate (that is, the number and arrangement of the openingsprovided in the covering layer are the same), an opening can be providedwithout having a light emitting element, which allows obtaining ofdifferent optical output. Also, a region lacking the covering layer maybe arranged in the region for establishing electrical continuity such asa connector.

The covering layer is preferably made of a material which reflectsemission of the light emitting element and wavelength-converted light bya wavelength converting member to be described later. Examples of thematerials include a resin such as a phenol resin, an epoxy resin, a BTresin, a PPA, a silicone resin and a urea resin. Also, those materialsmay be added with a filler such as SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, or MgO, forexample.

The covering layer is preferably disposed with a relatively smallthickness, and particularly preferable that the covering layer isdisposed so that the upper surface of the light emitting element ishigher than the covering layer. With such a thickness, the first resinmember to be described later can be arranged on the side surfaces of thelight emitting element. As a result, a broad distribution of light canbe obtained and which is suitable for applications particularly inlighting.

Light Emitting Element

In the above-described opening of the covering layer on the substrate,the light emitting element may be arranged on the two wiring portions ina bridged manner or arranged on a single wiring portion. With sucharrangements, the light emitting element can be electrically connectedto the pair of positive and negative wiring portions respectively. Thenumber and/or tone of color tone and/or arrangement of a plurality oflight emitting elements are determined to satisfy the output and lightdistribution designed for the light emitting device. It is thereforeaccordingly the shape and arrangement of the wiring portions and/oropenings of the covering layer are adjusted.

The light emitting element includes a semiconductor structure, a p-sideelectrode, and an n-side electrode. The semiconductor structure, forexample, includes an n-type layer, an active layer, and a p-type layerrespectively made of a gallium nitride-based semiconductor and stackedin the order on a light-transmissive sapphire substrate. It is notlimited to a gallium nitride-based semiconductor, but also, a groupII-VI based semiconductor or a group III-V based semiconductor may beused. The n-side electrode and the p-side electrode can be formed with asingle layer or staked-layer of known materials.

The light emitting element may be mounted on the substrate in aflip-chip manner or a face-up manner. In the case of flip-chip mounting,the p-side electrode and the n-side electrode of the light emittingelement are connected to a pair of wiring portions via a pair of bondingmember respectively. For the bonding member, for example, a solder ofSn—Ag—Cu based, Sn—Cu based, or an Au—Sn based, or a metal bump such asAu can be used. In the case of face-up mounting, the light emittingelement is fixed on the base member (on the wiring portion) by aninsulating bonding member such as a resin or by an electricallyconductive bonding member as described above, and then, electricallyconnected to the wiring portions via wires. In the case where thesubstrate of the light emitting element is electrically conductive, thelight emitting element is electrically connected by the bonding memberas described above.

In addition to the light emitting element, a protective element such asa Zener diode or a related component may be arranged on one surface ofthe substrate of the light emitting device. Such a protective elementand related component may be arranged together in the opening where thelight emitting element is mounted or in a different opening provided forthem. Such members are preferably arranged at locations so as not toabsorb the light from the light emitting element, and it is notnecessary to dispose the same number of protective elements as the lightemitting elements. Therefore, the protective element is preferablyarranged at an appropriate position, for example, one protective elementis mounted on a wiring portion, to which a plurality of light emittingelements are directly connected, at a position near a connectorregardless of the arrangement of the light emitting elements.

First Resin Member

A first resin member is disposed at periphery of the light emittingelement. The first resin member is to be disposed at least in theopening provided in the covering layer. Provided that, the first resinmember may be disposed on the outer periphery of the opening of thecovering layer, that is, the first resin member may be disposedextending onto the covering layer, or regardless of the wiring portions,for example, may be disposed in the grooves between the wiring portionsand/or directly under the light emitting element.

The first resin member is preferably in contact with the outer edge(side surface) of the light emitting element. Generally, the lightemitting element is mounted on the substrate by using a bonding memberetc., but a part of the surfaces of the bonding member and/or the basemember (for example, the wiring portions etc.,) is generally more proneto deterioration due to light than the material of the first resinmember. Therefore, in the case where a part of the surface etc., of thebonding member and/or the base member near the light emitting element iscovered by the first resin member, light of relatively high intensityemitted from the light emitting element can no longer be irradiateddirectly on the bonding member and/or base member, so that deteriorationby light of the constituent members of the light emitting device can beeffectively avoided.

The end portion of the first resin member at the opposite side of thelight emitting element may either be at the inner side or outer side ofthe outer periphery of the second resin member which to be describedlater, but of these locations, the end portion is preferably arrangedapproximately in conformity to the outer periphery or outer side of theouter periphery. With this arrangement, the contact area between thefirst resin member and the second resin member can be easily secured, sothat the second resin member can be adhered more strongly to the lightemitting device, in particular to the first resin member.

In other words, the size of the first resin member, that is, the planardimension of the first resin member when the light emitting device isviewed in light extracting direction may be similar, larger, or smallerthan the planar dimension of the sealing resin (the second resin)member, excluding the planar dimension of the light emitting element.Particularly, the size of the first resin member may be about ⅕ to 3times, preferably about ¼ to 3 times, and more preferably ⅓ to 1.5 timesof the planar dimension of the sealing resin (the second resin) memberexcluding the planar dimension of the light emitting element. Thus, witha large planar dimension of the first resin member, the contact areawith the second resin member increases as described later, so that dueto the adhesion of the both, the adhesion of the second resin member ofthe light emitting device can be further enhanced.

The first resin member may be disposed, for example, with a thickness ina range of several μm to several hundred μm. Particularly, portions incontact with the light emitting element preferably have a thicknesscorresponding to or less than the height of the side surfaces of thelight emitting element. In the case where the first resin member isdisposed in the whole portion of the opening, the portion in contactwith the outer periphery of the opening preferably has a thickness notexceeding the depth of the opening. Preferably, the thickness of thefirst resin member decreases from the light emitting element outward(outer side with respect to the canter of the light emitting element).

The first resin member can be formed for example by using a resin havingits base polymer of, a silicone resin composition, a modified siliconeresin composition, an epoxy resin composition, a modified epoxy resincomposition, an acrylic resin composition, a silicone resin, an epoxyresin, a urea resin, a fluororesin, or a hybrid resin containing one ormore of those resins. Of those, a resin containing a silicone resinand/or an epoxy resin as its base polymer is preferable. In thespecification, the term “a base polymer” means a resin having a highestcontent of the materials constituting the first resin member. The firstresin member preferably contains, for example, a reflective materialand/or diffusion material such as SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, and MgO. Withthis arrangement, light can be reflected sufficiently. The first resinmember may be made of a single material or a combination of two or morematerials. With this arrangement, the reflectance of light can beadjusted and also the linear expansion coefficient of the resin can beadjusted.

Second Resin Member

The second resin seals (covers) the light emitting element on thesubstrate. The second resin member preferably has transparency to thelight from the light emitting element and light resistance andelectrical insulation properties. The second resin member may bearranged to cover all the openings of the covering layer describedabove, or not to cover some of the openings. In the specification, theterm “transparency to light” means properties of transmitting about 60%or greater emission of the light emitting element, more preferably 70%or greater, or even more preferably 80% or greater of light emitted fromthe light emitting element.

The second resin member can be formed for example by using a siliconeresin composition, a modified silicone resin composition, an epoxy resincomposition, a modified epoxy resin composition, an acrylic resincomposition, a silicone resin, an epoxy resin, a urea resin, afluororesin, or a hybrid resin containing one or more of those resins.Particularly, the second resin member is preferably formed, includingthe same polymer as in the first resin member as described above, moreparticularly, including the same polymer constituting the base polymerof the first resin member, and more preferably including the samepolymer of the base polymer of the first resin member as the basepolymer of the second resin member. With this arrangement, at theportion where the second resin member is in contact with the first resinmember, suitability and compatibility of the both resin members arepreferable, so that the adhesion with the first resin member can befurther secured, and strong adhesion of the second resin member in thelight emitting device can be realized.

The second resin member preferably includes a wavelength convertingmember such as a fluorescent material capable of absorbing light fromthe light emitting element and emitting light of different wavelength.Examples of such a wavelength converting member include an oxide-basedfluorescent material, a sulfide-based fluorescent material, and anitride-based fluorescent material. For example, in the case where agallium nitride based light emitting element to emit blue light is usedas the light emitting element, fluorescent materials to absorb bluelight, such as a YAG-based fluorescent material or a LAG-basedfluorescent material to emit yellow to green light, a SiAlON-basedfluorescent material to emit green light, and a SCASN-based fluorescentmaterial and a CASN-based fluorescent material to emit red light, arepreferably used singly or in combination. Particularly, for the lightemitting devices used for the display devices such as backlights ofliquid crystal displays and TV-screens, a SiAlON fluorescent materialand a SCASN fluorescent material are preferably used singly or incombination. Also, for lighting applications, a YAG-based fluorescentmaterial or a LAG-based fluorescent material and a SCASN-basedfluorescent material or a CASN-based fluorescent material are preferablyused in combination. The second resin member may contain a lightdiffusing agent (barium sulfate, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, siliconoxide, etc).

The shape of the second resin member is not specifically limited, but inview of light luminous intensity distribution and directivity of thelight emitted from the light emitting element, a concave lens shape or aconvex lens shape is preferably employed. Of those, a hemisphericalconvex lens shape may be most suitably employed.

The size of the second resin member is not specifically limited andappropriately adjusted in view of the brightness, directivity, etc., ofthe light emitting device. Particularly, the second resin memberpreferably has a size which can secure wider contact area with the firstresin member, but in the case where a flexible substrate is employed, asize which does not impair the flexibility of the flexible substrate ispreferable. For example, the size which allows completely covering thelight emitting element or greater, preferably has a diameter or lengthof about ten timed or less, and more preferably has a diameter or lengthof about twice or less of the length of a side of the light emittingelement. More specifically, the second resin member having a side (ordiameter) of about 1 mm to 4 mm can be employed. The second resin membermay be disposed with its outer periphery or border arranged either onthe covering layer, over the covering layer and also on the first resinmember, or on the first resin member in the opening of the coveringlayer.

The embodiments according to the present invention will be describedbelow with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1

The light emitting device 100 of Embodiment 1 includes, as shown in FIG.1A and FIG. 1B, a substrate 10, a light emitting element 30 arranged ona surface of the substrate 10, a first resin member 40 arranged aroundthe light emitting element 30, and a second resin member 20 arranged onthe substrate 10 and covering the light emitting element 30.

The substrate 10 has a stacked layer structure made up of a flexiblebase member 11 made of a polyimide (about 25 μm thickness), wiringportions 12 (about 35 μm thickness) arranged on one surface of the basemember 11 and spaced apart from each other by a groove portion 14, andan insulating covering layer 15 (about 15 μm thickness and made of asilicone-based resin containing titanium oxide) disposed over them. Inorder to establish electrical connection with the light emitting element30, a groove portion 14 between the wiring portions 12 and the wiringportion 12 are exposed from the covering layer 15 in a region of thesubstrate 10. Among the wiring portions 12, a pair of wiring portionsare connected to external terminals respectively (not shown).

The light emitting element 30 includes a semiconductor structure, ap-side electrode, and an n-side electrode (not shown). In thesemiconductor structure, the p-type semiconductor layer and the lightemitting layer are partially removed to expose the n-type semiconductorlayer, and an n-side electrode is formed on the exposed surface. Ap-side electrode is formed on the upper surface of the p-typesemiconductor layer. Thus, the n-side electrode and the p-side electrodeare formed on the same surface side with respect to the semiconductorstructure. The light emitting element 30 as described above is arrangedon a pair of the wiring portions 12 which are exposed from the coveringlayer 15 of the substrate 10, with the surface having the n-sideelectrode and the p-side electrode facing downward, and is electricallyconnected to the wiring portions via the bonding member 35. The bondingmember 35 is generally disposed spread out from the outer border of thelight emitting element 30 to its outer periphery.

The first resin member 40 is disposed on the surface of the substrate 10at a periphery of the region where the light emitting element 30 isdisposed. The first resin member 40 is, for example, made of a siliconeresin containing about 30 weight % of titanium oxide. The first resinmember 40 is arranged from the outer periphery of the light emittingelement 30 and on the bonding member 35 to the peripheral region of thelight emitting element, on the all portion in the opening and furtheronto a part of the covering layer 15. The thickness of the first resin40 can be approximately the same as the height of the light emittingelement 30 at the light emitting element 30 side, and can be graduallyreduced on the bonding member 35 to reach about 10 μm thickness on thecovering layer 15. The length from the end portion of the first resinmember 40 at the light emitting element 30 side to the end portion atthe opposite side is about 1 mm.

As described above, in the case where the first resin member 40 isarranged at the outer periphery of the light emitting element 30 with arelatively large planar dimension, even with a second resin memberhaving a poor adhesion with the bonding member 35 and wiring portions 12etc., the second resin member 20 can be in contact with the first resinmember 40 which has better adhesion at a larger contact area, so thatthe second resin member 20 can be firmly adhered to the substrate 10.The first resin member 40 has a reflectance higher than that of thebonding member 35 and the wiring portions 12, so that extraction oflight from the light emitting element can be performed more efficiently.

The second resin member 20 is disposed on the substrate 10 mounted withthe light emitting element 30, on the portions including the lightemitting element 30, the first resin member 40 arranged around the lightemitting element 30, and a portion of the covering layer 15 disposedfrom directly under the first resin member 40 on the covering layer 15arranged on an outer side of the light emitting element 30. The secondresin member 20 is, for example, made of a silicone resin containingabout 10 weight % of a fluorescent material (LAG•SCASN). That is, thesecond resin member 20 contains the same type of polymer used to makethe first resin member. The outer periphery or border a of the secondresin member 20 is arranged on the covering layer 15 on the substrate10. The second resin member 20 is formed in a hemispherical shape bypotting. The diameter of the second resin member 20 is, for example,about 3.5 mm.

As described above, the second resin member 20 contains the same basepolymer as in the first resin member 40, thus, the adhesion between thefirst and second resin members can be secured. Particularly, in thelight emitting device 100, the first resin member 40 and the secondresin member 20 are in contact with each other with the entire surfaceof the first resin member 40 and all the side surfaces of the firstresin member 40 arranged on the covering layer 15, which enables furthersecuring of the contact area of the both. Further, the resin members aredisposed containing the same base polymer, so that good suitability andcompatibility therebetween can be obtained and thus further firmadhesion can be realized. Moreover, the surfaces and the interfacebetween the bonding member 35 and the wiring portions 12, and theinterface between the wiring portions and the reflective layer 15 can becovered with the covering layer 40, so that optical degradation of thosemembers and detachment or the like, due to the optical degradation canbe effectively prevented.

Embodiment 2

The light emitting device 200 according to Embodiment 2 includes, forexample as shown in FIG. 2, a structure substantially the same as in thelight emitting element 100 except that the diameter of the second resinmember 20 is reduced so that the outer periphery or border of the secondresin member 20 is arranged from the end portion of the first resinmember 40 reaching on the covering layer 15 on the substrate 10 to acenter portion side of the light emitting element 30. That is, the outerperiphery or border b of the second resin member 20 of the lightemitting device 200 is arranged over the covering layer 15 via the firstresin member 40. The diameter of the second resin member 20 is, forexample, about 2 mm. The light emitting device 200 exhibits the samelevel of effects as that with the light emitting device 100 ofEmbodiment 1.

Embodiment 3

The light emitting device 300 according to Embodiment 3 may include, forexample as shown in FIG. 3, substantially the same structure as in thelight emitting device 100 except that the first resin member 41 isdisposed only in the opening of the covering layer 15. The outerperiphery or border c of the second resin member 20 of the lightemitting device 300 is arranged on the covering layer 15 on thesubstrate 10. The light emitting device 300 exhibits the same level ofeffects as that with the light emitting device 100 of Embodiment 1.Particularly, widening the opening formed in the covering layer 15allows securing a greater contact area of the second resin member 20 tothe first resin member 41 even the first resin member 41 is not extendedon the covering layer 15, so that due to the adhesion between the firstand second resin members 41, 20, the adhesion of the second resin 20with the substrate 10 can be secured.

Embodiment 4

The light emitting device 400 according to Embodiment 4 includes, forexample as shown in FIG. 4, a structure substantially the same as in thelight emitting element 300 except that the diameter of the second resinmember 20 is reduced so that the outer periphery or border of the secondresin member 20 is arranged from the end portion of the first resinmember 41 reaching on the covering layer 15 on the substrate 10 to acenter portion side of the light emitting element 30. That is, the outerperiphery or border d of the second resin member 40 of the lightemitting device 400 is arranged over the covering layer 15 via the firstresin member 41. The diameter of the second resin member 20 is, forexample, about 2 mm. The light emitting device 200 exhibits the samelevel of effects as that with the light emitting device 300 ofEmbodiment 3.

Embodiment 5

The light emitting device 500 according to Embodiment 5 may include, forexample as shown in FIG. 5, substantially the same structure as in thelight emitting device 100, except that the light emitting element 30 ismounted in a face-up manner, the n-side electrode and the p-sideelectrode (not shown) of the light emitting element 30 are respectivelyelectrically connected to the wiring portions 12 via wires 16, and apart of the wires 16 are covered with the first resin member 41. Thelight emitting device 500 exhibits the same level of effects as thatwith the light emitting device 100 of Embodiment 1. Further, thisarrangement allows covering of the connecting portions of the wires 16and the wiring portions 12 with the first resin member 40, so that forexample optical degradation of those portions, detachment and breakingdue to optical degradation of those portions can be efficientlyprevented.

The light emitting device according to the illustrated embodiments canbe used for various kinds of light sources, such as illumination lightsources, light sources for various kinds of indicators, light sourcesfor automobile use, light sources for displays, back light sources forliquid crystal displays, light sources for sensors, signals, automobileuse, channel control characters for channel boards.

It is to be understood that although the present invention has beendescribed with regard to preferred embodiments thereof, various otherembodiments and variants may occur to those skilled in the art, whichare within the scope and spirit of the invention, and such otherembodiments and variants are intended to be covered by the followingclaims.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, a light emitting deviceincludes a substrate, a light emitting element, a first resin member anda second resin member. The substrate includes a base member, a pluralityof wiring portions disposed on a surface of the base member, and acovering layer covering the wiring portions with an opening formed in apart of the covering layer. The light emitting element is arranged onthe substrate in the opening of the covering layer and having an uppersurface at a position higher than the covering layer. The first resinmember is arranged at least in the opening of the covering layer and atperiphery of the light emitting element. The second resin member sealsthe substrate and the light emitting element. The second resin member isdisposed in contact with the first resin member.

The light emitting device as described above, in which the first resinmember and the second resin member contain a same polymer.

The light emitting device according to any one of described above, inwhich the first resin member is arranged in an inner portion of theopening and over the covering layer.

The light emitting device according to any one of described above, inwhich an outer border of the second resin member is arranged on thecovering layer.

The light emitting device according to any one of described above, inwhich an outer border of the second resin member is arranged above thecovering layer and on the first resin member.

The light emitting device according to any one of described above, inwhich an outer border of the second resin member is arranged on thefirst resin member in the opening of the covering layer.

The light emitting device according to any one of described above, inwhich the first resin member further includes a reflective material.

The present embodiment can provide a light emitting device including asealing resin member having good adhesion.

What is claimed is:
 1. A light emitting device comprising: a substrateincluding a base member, a plurality of wiring portions disposed on afirst surface and a second surface of the base member, and a coveringlayer covering the wiring portions disposed on the first surface andhaving an opening formed in a part of the covering layer; a lightemitting element arranged on the wiring portions disposed on the firstsurface in the opening of the covering layer and having an upper surfaceat a position higher than the covering layer; a first resin memberarranged at least in the opening of the covering layer and at peripheryof the light emitting element; and a second resin member sealing thesubstrate and the light emitting element and having an outer border thatis arranged above the covering layer, the covering layer being exposedat an outer side of the second resin member, the wiring portionsdisposed on the second surface being not directly or indirectlyelectrically connected to the light emitting element.
 2. The lightemitting device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring portions arefurther disposed at an inner side of the base member in addition to thefirst surface and the second surface.
 3. The light emitting deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element includes aplurality of light emitting elements, and the covering layer includes aplurality of openings that includes the opening such that the lightemitting elements are arranged in the openings, respectively.
 4. Thelight emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the light emittingelement includes a plurality of light emitting elements, and thecovering layer includes a plurality of openings that includes theopening such that the light emitting elements are arranged in theopenings, respectively.
 5. The light emitting device according to claim1, wherein the light emitting element is mounted in a flip-chip manner.6. The light emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the lightemitting element is mounted in a flip-chip manner.
 7. The light emittingdevice according to claim 5, wherein the light emitting element ismounted using a solder.
 8. The light emitting device according to claim6, wherein the light emitting element is mounted using a solder.
 9. Thelight emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the second resinmember has a hemispherical convex shape.
 10. The light emitting deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the second resin member has ahemispherical convex shape.